


Blue and Green

by JTHMManson4



Category: Breaking Bad, Breaking Bad & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, High School, OC, Pre-Canon, Pre-Series, Younger characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-02
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-09-27 20:54:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10048856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JTHMManson4/pseuds/JTHMManson4
Summary: Another school year--- and a surprising person comes back into Walt's life: Jesse Pinkman.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N:I don't own Breaking Bad. Obviously. 
> 
> Yayyy! I finally posted this, about time. Enjoy. :)

A crisp, nice Fall day in the city of Albuquerque. 

Parents and teachers had been rushing back and forth, trying to get an organized expectation of the about to start school year. 

J. P. Wynne among other schools were all ready—

As they’d ever be—

Even with its unpredictable student force. 

Walter White was yawning, and next thing he knew he was right in bed beside his loving wife, Skyler the evening before the first day back to teaching. 

Sleep seemed so short—

And consciousness pulled him to with the sound of Skyler’s gentle voice, and nudging. “No..” A mumble came from his mouth, and he tried to roll onto his side.

“Come on, Walt.” Skyler said gently, smiling a bit as she got a sudden idea. 

A grunt as Walt felt his slight 5 o’ clock shadow and mustache being tickled. A slight smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, as he grabbed his wife’s hand and rolled over a bit, causing her to stagger a bit from her angle. 

Giggles erupted from both of them, especially Skyler. 

“Hey now, Walt…” 

“What?’’ Walt intoned innocently, before letting go of her and slid slowly out of bed to only stretch and to also to let out a yawn. 

Skyler hummed, and she blinked. Within a few moments, she went up to her husband and gave him a soft kiss, in which he returned immediately. 

“Do you have anything packed and ready for today?” 

“Yeah.. All in the backseat of the car.”

“Good.” 

After a quick shower, the chemistry teacher hopped out of the shower to only eye his wife a bit, as he started to get dressed for the day. “I…envy that..” He muttered.

“Hm?” She questioned, as she adjusted her robe a bit on her person before exiting out of the bedroom, letting the door opened a crack, so he could continue. 

“….You being able to go in a bit later than me.” It barely came out of a quiet voice. 

“The year will be fine, Walt.” She answered, noting the slight anxiety within his voice, even though it seemed to be somewhat hidden, guarded. 

“What, I didn’t say---“ 

“You have a tell.” She said matter-of-factly, watching now as he entered the kitchen, finishing up on the last buttons up his dress shirt. 

The male looked a bit deflated, furrowing his brows. “I do not.” 

The brewing of coffee was heard. “…You’ve said that same statement five times in the last day or two.”

Walt flushed a bit, embarrassed, as he brushed past her, forking out some plates for them and utensils, careful to be quiet. Their son wouldn’t have to get up just yet. 

“Yeah, well…..” He said a bit weakly. 

She tilted her head. “Do you have to deal with failed students from last year? I mean, if—“ 

“I’ll be fine, I mean, come on..” He said meekly, as he started to prepare some toast for himself. 

“What about that one…. Pinks… Pinkman?”

Walt suddenly froze. “…… What about him?”

“You don’t think you’ll have to deal with students like him, this year? I mean, the stress… I can’t imagine…” 

On the defensive, now. “I can deal with them.” He said quickly, though some seemed quite intimidating last year, if he recalled correctly. “I mean, do you really think HE would be back?” 

“Well—“ 

“I sincerely doubt it, Skyler. He probably dropped out.” 

“From what you told me, his parents seemed… insistent at the very least, about him. Dedicated.” 

Troubled too. Walt waved a dismissive hand, smiling hotly. He had tried, and tried, with that boy over that year, but gave up about halfway through. “….Let’s just hope the class average is well… over 80% this time, compared to last year’s…. 70%.” Humiliating fact, but it… was what it was, and the teacher looked down with a scowl.

Skyler gave him a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder. “No, I think it’ll be over 90, because of their AMAZING and TALENTED teacher…” A smile. 

It was unrealistic, but.. it made Walt smile big. “Yeah… the best in the building—“ His pride finally allowing itself to shine a bit. 

“Now, I wouldn’t go THAT far, Walt.. maybe THIRD best…” Skyler teased him, as she scooped up some eggs and bacon from the stove. 

“…In that case, Sky, you’d be in the middle of being quality…” Continuing to tease. 

“Now, you’re just lying.” 

Walt chuckled a bit and was about to retort, before finding a sudden small pile of the two breakfast items on top of his plates. 

He gave her a look, and all she gave back was a smirk. 

\--

Students bustled all around—chatting and laughing. J. P. Wynne High had become lively all over again, cracking away from the conception of summer. Some looked happy to be returning, having had appreciated their break from their studies—while others looked absolutely dreading to come back. 

Walt could feel a swell of happiness being back on the school’s grounds--- always excited to attempt to teach chemistry. 

Chemistry was a huge passion, and he just hoped at least a couple of students would be able to follow and understand it. 

A slight smile decided to land onto the 43, almost 44 year old’s mouth, as he swept past the student body and into the building. 

“Hey, Mr. White, glad to see you back!” Ms. Swanson, the math teacher for 12th grade called out, waving at him. 

“Hey..” He called out, simply nodding, because of the large pile he was carrying. 

“Hey, Walt!” Another. 

One that even dared to pat him on the shoulder. 

Another, but this one was a fellow science department member. Mr. Gavin poked his head through past Walt, and started to walk past him. “Hold on, buddy, lemme get that for you---“ 

“Thank you---“ 

The door to the chemistry room and lab were opened, and Walt could more easily get through the doorway. With a loud noise, the material in his hands was slapped onto his desk.

Walt looked up, meeting the brown eyes of his fellow science teacher, who taught physics across the hall. “So… how’d the… uhm—“ 

“Summer go?’’ Mr. Gavin cut him off with a smile, and a slight scratch to the back of his sandy colored hair. 

“Yeah.” 

“It went well enough… really, it did.” Mr. Gavin said simply. “Yours?”

“Good, good. Junior actually got to go to Summer Camp for a couple of weeks.” 

“Oh, wow, that’s good to hear!” Mr. Gavin clapped his hands together, then walked up and patted the other man’s shoulder. “I’ll let you go, I’ll talk to you more over lunch, yeah?”

Walt attempted to smile a bit, nodding. “Alright, sure.” 

“Bye bye for now.” The science teacher said, now exiting out of the room, letting the door shut with a slight noise. 

Though Walt had a good feeling about the year up ahead, he couldn’t have helped but to feel it might be a tad bit chaotic too. 

With that thought in mind, he started to organize his things. 

With almost an hour, the nerd had to almost jump—realizing his door was still closed. It was almost time for the first period to come into his classroom. Wirth a slight scramble and almost knocking a full stack of papers to the ground, Walt rushed to the door and propped it open. 

With a sigh, the teacher went back to his black table and sat down upon his chair, pushing the papers back onto the table so they wouldn’t fall. With a flurry, he re-organized them. 

He finally took another glance at the clock. 

Just fifteen more minutes. 

Upon hearing the first set of mutters and steps near his classroom, the male straightened up a bit and smiled a little. As a habit, he re-straightened some papers, before his first student came into the room. He stood up, preparing himself mentally, as he now waited for the crowd to fully come in. Once it was---

“Hello, and welcome to Chemistry 101. I am—“ He motioned to the chalkboard, which had his name written. 

“Mr. White, and—“ 

“Tighty Whties?”

Walt’s joyous expression slid off, and he froze to the spot. 

Already, a supposed hotshot that presented himself as king of the classroom. Usually it took more than a couple of weeks, but… sometimes, he’d get unlucky like this. 

“…Excuse me?” The teacher turned to look at the blonde haired boy, who looked smug. A couple of students looked a bit amused by this kid. 

“What, Mr. White, I—“ 

“Cut it out.” Walt was quick to interrupt. He went around his table and immediately pointed towards the door as he stopped in front of the student. “Please leave if you are to continue with the bullshit.” 

A couple of widened eyes. They didn’t expect their teacher to suddenly cuss like that. 

Walt looked immediately regretful. “ I apologize for cursing, but I must insist you stop it.” 

“..Look, I just—“ 

“No, stop. What’s your name?” 

A sigh. “Trevor. But good luck.” 

Walt wasn’t amused one bit. “Yes, well… Let’s continue, shall we?” 

A sarcastic look was given to him by Trevor, before he decided to keep a sharp eye on Trevor for rest of the introductory period. It went surprisely smooth, but Walt knew he had to keep an eye out on him. 

The bell suddenly rang—

“Alright! Tomorrow, I’ll go over laboratory procedures, and such. Until then…” He said with a flash of a smile, as the students started to filter out of the classroom. 

With a huge sigh, the chemist glanced over to the clock up above. 

He wanted the next to go better. Far, far better. He once again straightened up, as he started to finish up the last of his coffee. It was lukewarm, but it still got him through the morning. 

“Yes, hello—“ He started as the second period started to filter into the room, as he re-attempted that same smile he had during the beginning of the first period.

A ginger-haired girl came in, almost showing a bounce within her step. He had to restrain a full-out grin. That was always a good thing. He watched her as she took a seat in the first row, and he gave her a friendly smile. 

In a lower voice—“Always good to see a fellow enthusiast.” 

“Yes, of course! Chemistry is amazing.” Her voice sounded a bit nauseating. 

“Always an int---“ 

Did he just see—

Out of the corner of his eyes, he thought he saw a slightly baggy assortment of clothing, and not just any. A very FAMILIAR set. His face fell, and his eyes locked with the very student he thought he’d never see again---

Jesse Pinkman. 

“…J-Jesse?” He said in a harsh whisper in pure disbelief, as he took a few steps forward, putting his palms on the desk before him. No way. 

“….Mr. White.” Jesse said in that same sort of whisper. As if on cue, the boy took his customary seat back of the class, kicking his feet up, a very issue of last year. 

“Welcome back, I suppose.” Walt said with that certain sort of apprehension. A tad bit of disdain. 

The period flew by quite quickly and by a mere surprise. He had expected Jesse to act out like last year, yet.. something different was going on, that much was certain. 

Great, another agonizing year with a possible high school burnout. Why him? It’d just drag down the class’s average, as it did last year, and the teacher took it quite harshly. A personal failure. 

A personal failure…

The words rang through Walt’s mind, and the piece of chalk he had been nearly putting back broke within his fist. With a gasp, he brushed his hands together, and threw a look at the students still filtering out. 

“Jesse—“ He said quickly, letting the 19 year old turn around skeptically. “Stay back, would you?” 

Jesse let out an exaggerated sigh, and went up to the teacher’s desk. “..What? I didn’t do anything wrong, unless I breathed wrong—“

“No.” Walt said, effectively cutting him off. 

Jesse resigned to leaned against the edge of one of the tables nearby. “…Looked wr—“

“What are you doing… suddenly back in this class?” Scathing sounding, but of course. The kid was a direct dig at his pride. 

Jesse looked away, opening his mouth, but closed it again. 

“Seriously.” 

He kept his vision away. “…..My… parents, alright? Jesus.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t get out my crystal ball….” The genius started to pat down the counter in front of him, in a sarcastic search in to find it. 

“Alright, you can quit it asswipe—“ 

“I didn’t see that name calling in my crystal ball, you know, if I had it even out….” 

The student rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever.” He threw his arms up at the sides. “…Are you done? Can I leave now?” 

“No. Your parents then?” He lifted an eyebrows. 

“Uh, YEAH.” 

“…..You do realize you could have picked a different science to do, rather than Chemistry, right?” 

“…I…. They didn’t want me to shrink away from this class.” 

“Uh huh….” Walt didn’t seem convinced. He had remembered how above average Jesse seemed with the hands-on labs, even…-- dare he say it?-- enjoying it. Everything else…. He seemed like a typical failing student. 

“LOOK, alright—“ Jesse tilted his head sarcastically, taking a couple of steps forward. “I didn’t choose this. If I beg my parents enough, they’d transfer me out of this class and into a different one.” He looked up at the ceiling. “Y-You won’t have to deal with me, Mr. White.”

Was that disappointment in Jesse’s tone about not being here? Unbelievable. There was a slight laugh, as Walt shook his head. “….All I can really tell you Jesse…. Is… well, apply yourself.” 

Jesse looked downward finally, and snorted. “Right, so you can fail me---“

“Jesse, you didn’t apply yourself one bit.” 

Jesse growled, pointing at him. “So you say! SO YOU SA—“ 

He looked back and forth. “Keep your voice down!” 

“….So you say.” 

“YES, you didn’t put forth your best effort—AT ALL—I might add—“ 

A loud huff. “….Then why did you give me a higher grade with… the hands-on bullshit? Huh?” 

Walt had to say it almost reluctantly, “…..You were….. actually decent in that.” With the skeptical look, he added on— “No, really.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Yes! Don’t you believe me?” 

Walt was met with a questioning stare, before the student decided to dip out of the classroom. 

A sigh left the teacher’s mouth. He glanced up at the clock. Another period, and it’d be lunch. 

\--

As usual, the staffroom was busying itself with a huge outburst of activity—No doubt being lunchtime and all. Even moreso than usual. The teachers that had been teaching here the longest could usually be let to do their own thing during this time, even going out to eat somewhere, just as long as they came back on time. 

Walt lifted his tumbler of juice and sipped some. Before him, he had a sandwich and an apple. 

Exciting meal, right? 

Mr. Gavin was usually someone who enjoyed the school lunches—believe it or not—and quickly sat across from his friend. 

“Hey, buddy. So you were saying….? Junior in summer camp?” 

Walt forced a smile, trying to forget earlier events. “Yeah. It was great. He got to be an actual kid.”

Mr. Gavin smiled, picking up a French fry from his tray. “So they watched over him okay then?”

“Yeah. I mean—he had an assistant… But still..” 

“No, no.. that’s good to hear, man.” The other clapped a hand briefly onto Walt’s shoulder. “He got to enjoy himself.” 

“Yeah.. What about Ellie?”

He laughed, almost filling the room with utmost joy with how loud he got. With a slap onto his mouth, he peeked out a little grin. “She’s doing really good…” 

“How’s her socializing going?” 

“Good… She’s made a friend a few weeks back…. But, you know… She’s feeling a little antisocial this week, so…”

“She’ll be fine, I bet.”

“Yeah, yeah! No doubt. It’s just…. We have to be supportive and all. Me and Mary..” 

Walt nodded a bit, as he took further bites of his sandwich, then took a bite out of his apple. 

“Her texture issues are coming back a little bit too…. Change in environment for the school year…” 

Another nod. 

“Here—“ He dug out a picture out of his daughter and showed Walt, which made him smile. 

“She’s getting so big!” 

“She is! Too adorable for words, I know, I know…” He clamed down a bit, before nodding at his fellow science lover. “How’d your morning classes go?” 

“Uh….” 

“That bad, huh?” 

Walt quickly shook his head. “No, no… it’s just…. Besides the usual, you wouldn’t believe who came back into my class.” 

“Who?” 

“You remember Jesse Pinkman?” 

“….What about him?” Mr. Gavin furrowed his brows, grabbing his juicebox and taking a gulp. 

“…..Jesse’s right back in my class.” 

Mr. Gavin spit out his drink.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, lookie! Me finally doing an update to this story. Sorry for the wait, folks. <3
> 
> Enjoy <3

It was the end of the day---

Students raced out of the school, eager to get on with their lives, instead of constantly learning. A small handful would actually be holding back, learning more about extracurricular activities for the year ahead; others would be trying to smoke or hang with their friends. 

There was one---

A tall messy brown haired boy started to walk past several others, backpack slung lazily over his shoulder. He looked like a typical stoner sort of character. 

Almost. 

He picked up his pace as he noticed a certain student coming out, and he quickly intercepted their path. 

“Jesse!”

The teen picked up his head, snapping out of thoughts from previous in the day. “Oh.” A moment’s pause. “..Hey, Badger, what’s up man?” 

“Nothin’! Ready for like, a little.. ‘fun’?” Brandon lifted his fingers up to his lips in a mock gesture of smoking a certain substance. 

Jesse instantly understood. He shook his head—he had only been a semi-regular user nowadays. Even moreso recent, occasionally. 

“Nah, man. Can’t.” 

Brandon laughed, as the two started to walk down the sidewalk. “…What? Come on.. you’ve been a pussy.” 

“I said I CAN’T, man. Why can’t you just accept that!?” 

He held up his hands in surrender. ‘’Alright, alright! Jeez.. So.. troubles in paradise again?” 

Jesse rubbed back of his neck, furrowing his brows. 

Brandon grinned. “I take that as a yes.”

“Look, they…” He rubbed at his face. “They CARE, alright? Unlike yours.”

A tut and a sigh. 

Jesse stopped him, placing a hand in front of him. “Yo, I didn’t…mean.. it like that.”

Another sigh, and he looked away. “Yeah, I know, it’s just….”

Jesse forced a smile. “…You got me, alright? You know, uh….” He looked away. “Without making it sound homo and all.” 

Brandon pulled a half smile and nodded. “Yeah, yeah.. I know.” 

Jesse’s finally relaxed into a more natural one. “So… tell me about that, uh…. Latest Star Trek episode you’ve seen, man.” 

Brandon’s face instantly lit up. “Alright, so---“ 

The convo went on and on, as they walked to their homes. Cars passed by them to and fro; the sun was saying hi to them, as it peered over the buildings within the city. Badger’s rants were in sync with other people’s conversations around them, and then—

“Badger.” Jesse dared to interrupt. 

“Then Spock was like---“ 

“BADGER.” He turned to his friend. 

“—What dude?” They were in front of Brandon’s house. “…Oh. Yeah, alright…” He clapped a hand on the other’s shoulder. “You wanna smoke some, man, sneak a little in?” 

Jesse blinked. “Uh? This AGAIN?”

Badger grinned. “Parents aren’t home. Pleeeeeease?” 

“Uh, no man… Once AGAIN… “ The 19 year old shook his head, biting his lip. He soon got a gentle punch into the arm. 

“Come on… why not? One time won’t hurt.”

“…How about my mom and dad breathing down my neck, dude??” 

“They’ll never know.” 

“My answer’s still no, yo.” 

“..It’s been a month, man. You always liked to do weed…. I want some company, man.” 

Jesse rubbed back of his neck. “I know, I know, Jesus! I mean… they’ve just started trusting me again….And I know, it’s just..”

“…Oh.” 

“YEAH,” Jesse emphasized, throwing a glare, then rubbed a hand down his face. “Plus… I kinda got roped into babysitting Jake for the night.” 

“Haha, oh man! Unlucky you!” 

“Ha ha.” He replied sarcastically, then shook his head. “…As long he doesn’t become a fuck up like me.” It was a quiet statement. 

“You’re fine Jesse.” Badger’s voice was just as quiet. 

“Yeah, whatever.” Jesse huffed, abruptly walking off now. 

It wasn’t long that the boy finally came home, and his hand hesitated on the doorknob. These last few months hadn’t been easy for the teenager—ever since his parents had discovered some weed within his bedroom, he had been up shit creek. 

Being grounded---

Yelled at—

Even asked to leave the house for the night, if they smelled it on him.

It had taken a toll on both of the sides, parent and child alike. As for Jake, both parties agreed not to bring it up to the young boy. He didn’t need to know, not one bit. 

Surprise flashed across Jesse’s face, as he soon realized the doorknob being pulled right out of his hands, and let the door fly open. 

He blinked—neither parent was supposed to be here until 4, off work, shorter shifts for their special night together. 

“Jesse.” 

It was his mother. He shifted a bit on his feet, and he did a little wave at her, before stepping inside. But he couldn’t go any further, and she stopped him. 

“Yo! Let me—“ 

“Let me check your eyes.” Her voice was a bit strained, as if she had a hard time saying it. 

A huff came from the teen. “What, I’m NOT high, mom—“ 

“Now.” A pause, before— “Please, Jesse.” 

A beat paused, before an exaggerated sigh flowed from Jesse’s mouth. “It’s been a month, since my last high, don’t you believe me, yo?”

Jesse’s mom let out a little sigh. “I know, but… “

“But WHAT?” 

She hesitated, then scowled just a hair. “…I just don’t want to see you complete in depths of it, dear. Your father may have a different view, but…” She shook his head, shrugging her shoulders. “We’ve… had our fair uses when we were young too…”

Jesse’s face twisted into a sarcastic smirk. “He’d kill you if he ever heard that from you.”

“Was that ever my point, honey?” The tone felt a bit hurt. 

Another sigh from Jesse, before he looked up to his mother with a dull look, letting his eyes meet hers. She stepped forward, gently poking at her son’s skin, to check the innermost corners, as well as the rest of the eyes. Once done, she took a step backward. “…Thank you, Jesse.” 

The kid shook his head. “Whatever…” With that, he exited into the kitchen to find a snack. He was starving; it had been a long time since lunch. 

She followed, though hovered closer to the doorway. “Jesse….” 

“No, listen mom!” 

She paused, unable to move, frozen to the spot. 

“It’s…. not about you. It’s dad, he’s always been so—“ A sigh. “—Hard on me about this. WHY? All he’s doing is tearing me apart about this bullshit. And you know it.” 

She took a few steps forward, firmly. “You know he loves you just as much as I do, Jesse---“ 

He slammed down his glass of soda. Luckily it wasn’t glass. “Does he now?” He said with a hiss, then he deflated looking down at his shoes. “….I mean…. He’s always so angry. Disappointed.”

She sighed, tilting her head over towards her son. “Jesse…..” Was she said, before going up to him and simply hugging him from behind. 

He froze, letting her do it, stopping what he was doing. 

\--

The door shut abruptly, announcing the teacher’s return to his home. His bag suddenly slipped from his fingers, letting it fall to the ground, though not spilling anything out. 

His eyes kept to the ground, just as they did as he entered. 

What…. Just happened today? 

It was a snap decision, but the teacher knelt down and dug out the class roster, as if he needed to doublecheck. 

Yes….

Still there. Jesse Pinkman. 

Jesse fucking Pinkman.

A huff exited from his mouth, why couldn’t the words and letters just erase themselves from the page? He stared at it. Damn it. It was entirely iilogical, but he wished they had. 

This was going to be one HELL of a year up ahead. 

He roughly sat down onto the floor, rubbing at his forehead. 

Why coul----

“Walt?” 

The name made him snap his head up towards his wife, and he arched his eyebrows. 

“…What are you doing on the floor?” 

“Uh….” Embarrassment rose up from within—he was still processing it all. He shook his head, trying to put an easy-going smile on his face. “Nothing…. It’s just….” 

Skyler kneeled down and took the paper from Walt, who basically let her have it. “What’s wrong….?” 

The teacher didn’t answer--- he tried to take the paper back, but his wife wouldn’t let go of it. 

“Do you mind?” 

“….OH.” 

A sigh. “…..Well. Know you know, dear.” He really, really didn’t want her to find out so quickly. 

“…..What’s… he—“ 

“His parents.” He swiftly answered in a slightly irritated tone, before snatching away the paper successfully this time. 

“Wow.” 

“….Tell me about it.” He grumbled, as he now went out to the kitchen, setting his bag on the floor, as he stuffed the paper inside. 

“Will—“ 

“I will handle it, one way or another….” 

Skyler went over and ran her down his back and let her hand rest in a half hug around him. “It’d be alright, Walt.” She gently whispered into his ear. 

He lifted up his hand and grabbed onto hers, as a reassurance. “..I know it will be.” He said defensively, maybe a tad bit offended. 

She was only trying to comfort him. 

After a couple minutes of standing like that, the male gently yet a touch roughly pushed her hand away, and she huffed a bit. 

“Walt….” She started, but didn’t finish. She knew that he was uncomfortable in showing emotions, weakness. 

“Skyler.” He almost said in a slight smartass way, and he frowned. 

Skyler hated how he tended to do it, but she could understand why. She looked off to the living room. “I’ll be watching TV for a bit before I have to make dinner, you’re free to join me.” 

Walt half-smiled. “I will.. Let me just get a small snack.” 

“Alright.” 

Walt lost a bit of his smile and sighed. He felt absolutely hopeless, what could he do to get through to the other this time? It was a pure challenge. 

The image of Jesse’s eyes showing flashed through his mind---

A hand got out a hot pocket from the freezer. 

Excitement had shone through them when the teacher briefly mentioned about the laboratory use during the year. 

The low hum of the microwave soon kicked on, as Walt put the small snack there. 

It was something the kid looked forward to. 

The man ran his tongue over his teeth, as he thought on it. Maybe.. Maybe instead of focusing on Jesse’s actual studying this time, he’d try to focus on that. 

It was worth a shot. 

And hopefully, this time, actually worth the effort. 

\--

“…Alright.”

Jesse said in an almost monotonous tone, by this point. His parents had thrown all sorts of statements about the situation tonight at him, as they were worried he’d fuck up. “ALRIGHT.” He said in a more emphasized tone this time, glaring. 

Jesse’s father’s mouth thinned into a line. “…I just want everything to go alright.” 

“I know, jesus…” 

“Don’t get smart with me.” He warned. “YOU have done this and—“ 

Jesse looked down shamefully, though looked back up with challenging eyes. 

“And?” 

“Jesse--“ 

“Honey….” The mother interrupted, putting her arm on her husband’s arm, and he sighed, relenting. 

“…Right.” He muttered, giving her a stern look, before shifting his eyes back to Jesse’s. “…Jesse, I want to believe in you, but currently I can’t—“ Jesse had momentarily interrupted with a scoff. “—This is the step in the right direction, you understand?” 

Jesse squinted his eyes, as if thinking on it. “I guess, yeah…” 

“It’s another thing that’s a different activity than getting high.”

Jesse considered that. “…excluding judgement?” 

Subtle grit of the teeth, but a nod came from the father. “Yes. We’re just working with you on this, alright?”

“I guess…. Uh, that’s the way you say you’re concerned?” 

“I care about you as much as your mother does.” 

A chance for a smartass reply, but it never came, since he met his mother’s eyes. She didn’t want this to be a fight. “…Uh, right.” 

“Okay, so…” The father nodded at his son. “You got us in your phone… you know to contact us if anything goes wrong.” 

“….Yeah, yo.” 

“… Alright.” He sighed, hoping this went well. He was more prone to distrust, afterall. “Make sure he’s in bed at 9, we’ll be back around 10:30.” 

“Alright.” 

The father simply gave a nod before turning to go out of the front door. His mother lingered and gave a kiss on Jesse’s cheek before following suit. 

As soon as the teenager heard the door shut, he let out a loud sigh. 

This could be a long night. 

His eyes darted around, attempting to find his younger brother. He searched, going from room to room, finally finding the other within his room. His heart raced a bit--- 

The kid had a much neater room, and there were even a few trophies against the wall. 

Awkwardly, he entered the room now and started to examine the trophies off to the side, since they caught his eye. Damn. He never got trophies like this, and jealous quickly set in like it usually did. Even if it was only one or two. 

“….Hey.” 

Jake’s head momentarily poked up from the video games in front of him, and he raced over to cling to his older brother, which caused Jesse to smile a bit. “Hey! We got the entire house to ourselves tonight, huh?” 

His little brother always did make him smile, somehow. “…yeah… So what game you playin’?” 

The little boy shrugged. “Just a racing game.” It had been paused. 

Jesse swallowed. “Looks like fun, man.” 

“It is!” Jake exclaimed, before racing back over to it. 

Jesse found his opportunity to finally examine the new trophy, next to the older one. “So uh….. Won the Spelling Bee, huh?” 

“Yep! I can spell big words and everything.” Excitement was within his voice. 

Jesse nervously laughed. “….Weird. I-I… never got shi—stuff like that.” He always made a point not to cuss in front of Jake. 

“You mean ‘shit’, don’t you?” 

Jesse’s eyes grew wide. “What?? No, of course not! Jake—“ 

“It’s okay, I don’t use it in front of mom and dad.” 

“….Still!” 

Jake grinned mischievously, sparing a brief glance at his older brother, who looked dumbfounded. “…I hear it used by you and dad all the time.” 

Jesse let out an amused huff, shaking his head. “Oh my god…. Wow. Just…” He slid a hand down his face. “….You don’t cuss in school, do you?” 

Jake immediately shook his head. “No… I could get in trouble.” 

That relieved him. “…Uh, GOOD.” A brief pause, a heartbeat. “…..Can you spell it?”

“S-H-I-T. I am a good S-P-E-L-L-E-R afterall.”

Jesse had to force a smirk from forming on his face. “…Unbelievable. So uh…. When was the Spelling competition?” 

“…You don’t have to ask if you don’t want to, Jesse…” His tone wasn’t sad. 

Jesse did a doubletake. “Uh, what?”

“..I know you don’t like it.”

“No it’s not THAT—it’s—“ 

“No, it’s fine, big bro. it’s fine to be jelly.” Jake giggled. 

This time, Jesse couldn’t resist at least a half-smile. “Huh…?” 

“Jealous. But it’s just a funny way of saying it.” 

Jesse looked away with a much more eased chuckle. “Uh, yeah.. it’ts totally weird, but people use it like that…. But… yeah, yo. I’m…..” He bit at his lip. “…Still proud of you, Jake. You’re still my little bro.” 

Jake beamed. “Yeah, I know.” 

This felt like it went better than expected, really. The older leaned against the doorway now, silently watching Jake. “…..You want pizza then?” His parents had left money on the table in case if he had needed it. 

“Yeah! That’d be awesome.” 

“Alright. What topping?” 

“Pepperoni.” 

“Alright, coming right up!” He spared another look at the trophy—wishing it had HIS name on it. Or… it be tossed out of the window. He threw out that thought immediately, before focusing on calling the Pizza place for a delivery. He moved downstairs, scooping up the money his parents had left out. 

Within a good 20 minutes, the pizza had come. 

The teen put it on top of the kitchen counter—

“PIZZA TIME!” 

Within seconds, Jake seemed to run downstairs, but was careful. 

After the pizza, the two spent time with each other playing video games, until—

“Jake, bro.” 

“Hmhhh?” 

“…I got one word for you. Guess.” 

“Whaaaat?” There was a slight whine within it. Jesse wouldn’t be surprised if it was ingrained in the kid’s mind, the time. 

“Bedtime.” 

“Booooo, 10 more minutes? Please, Jesse?” 

Jesse shook his head. “No, man. You got school, and …..whatever else.” 

“Basketball.” He quickly supplied, already looking at his schedule off to the side on the wall. 

Jesse honestly hated that in Middle School. Parents had kind of forced it onto him. “…Yeah. So you gotta get to bed.” He scratched the back of his head. “That’s like…. A 10 hours long day, or something.” 

Jake nodded. “Yeah.. Hey Jesse?” 

“What’s up?” 

“You’re awesome.” 

A pang to Jesse’s heart. “Y-You think so?” 

“Definitely! D-E-F-I-N-I-T-E-L-Y.” 

Jesse laughed, feeling a huge leap in his self esteem, since this whole thing against his family had started back when they had discovered his drug use. 

“…Thanks, buddy.” 

Jesse ended up sleeping pretty good that night.


End file.
